Anonymous wrote:
West Springfield is nice. There are a good number of military families and schools are very good (if that matters to you). My husband and I lived in this neighborhood for 10 years and until our son was 5. It has tot lots and is nice for walking, close to pools, the South Run Rec Center, and the Huntsman shopping plaza.

http://www.militarybyowner.com/homes/VI/Springfield/Glendower_Ct/MBO328088.aspx

Military brat here, born at the old Ft. Belvoir Hospital. My dad was career USAF and worked on Ft. Belvoir/commuted there for years. I grew up in West Springfield and still live locally. You would be among many other military families from all branches of service in the WS area.

Specifically, the area around West Springfield High School is family-friendly and convenient specifically the neighborhoods off of Carrleigh Parkway, Rolling Valley, Orange Hunt. Lots of nice, established preschools, too.

Agree with PP who suggested finding a rental through military sites. I have a neighbor who only rents to military families.

I have friends who live in Lorton and they like it. Or maybe near Occoquan - it's so charming over there. And there are some nice neighborhoods around the Mount Vernon rec center.

Either way, your budget should be fine for a single family home in that area. Go for Fairfax County schools over City of Alexandria schools if you can.

West Springfield has a more suburban feel. Old Town Alexandria is more urban.

West Springfield is nice. There are a good number of military families and schools are very good (if that matters to you). My husband and I lived in this neighborhood for 10 years and until our son was 5. It has tot lots and is nice for walking, close to pools, the South Run Rec Center, and the Huntsman shopping plaza.

http://www.militarybyowner.com/homes/VI/Springfield/Glendower_Ct/MBO328088.aspx

Rent in Old Town with a toddler. You can walk to many places, lots of pre-schools and you have easy access to Ft. Belvoir either via the GW Parkway or Telegraph Road.

Lorton is nice, as is West Springfield. Lots of DOD civilians and active duty in both. Cameron Run, a townhouse development near my house, also seems to have some military families. The first two locales will be a pretty easy commute, the second a bit longer but closer to the city. As a military family, I kind of doubt you'd like DC, not to mention that the commute would suck for your DH, even though it's a reverse commute. You might like Old Town, too, but the drive south on Rt. 1 can take a while. The GW Pkwy is faster but doesn't put you near much on post.

FWIW, Fort Belvoir on base housing seems much newer and nicer than many other places I've seen. My son is in a day care in a home there, and it seems very nice. Many of the homes are single family. A lot of school aged children because of the Fairfax Cty schools, which are on average better than City of Alexandria. There are also several pools on post that are nice.

Note that there are parts of Fairfax County with an Alexandria address.

Don't live in Lorton. I also recommend Alexandria in Fairfax County - 22307, 22308, 22309. Kingstowne is dull to me, but ymmv. I also like the Rose Hill neighborhood. Not sure but I think that is 22310. Hollin Hills has some great single family homes on decent sized lots and is cool housing compared to the rest of DC's boring housing stock. Probably well within that price range to rent a house there.

OP here. Thanks for the replies so far. We do have a toddler and hoping for another baby soon but we do NOT want to live on base. Not considering living in the city either. We want to live as close to the base as possible for my DH's commute but still in a nice, family friendly neighborhood. A townhome would be nice although a SFH with a yard would be even better. We haven't figured out exactly how much we want to spend yet but I"m guessing up to $3200 or so per month is doable. I will look into Kingstowne - thanks for that rec. Also, I have been on militarybyowner and saw a lot of very nice homes in Lorton. Any thoughts on Lorton?

If you don't mind a townhouse, I recommend Kingstowne. Quick commute to Ft. Belvoir, nice area, and lots of families with young children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My family is moving to the DC area in July. DH will work at Fort Belvoir and I work from home. We have a toddler. We know nothing about the area - where should we look? I've heard good things about Alexandria but I'm wondering about other towns where our money will go a bit further. We plan to rent b/c we are military and will only be there for a few years. Would love to hear some thoughts.

Live in the city of you don't have kids for a few years you will never forget, on base if you do have kids. The areas around ft belvior are either crap or to expensive for the avg mil family.

Militarybyowner.com is a good site to check.

You do not want to live in DC. It is expensive and full of yuppies with fancy degrees who down on anyone with a connection to the military, whether enlisted or civilian. You would be miserable. Areas like Kingstowne and Alexandria would be much better.

If you want suburban and family-centered, with older established homes and a quick commute, try Fort Hunt. Zip code is 22308. If you are looking for urban, do Old Town.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My family is moving to the DC area in July. DH will work at Fort Belvoir and I work from home. We have a toddler. We know nothing about the area - where should we look? I've heard good things about Alexandria but I'm wondering about other towns where our money will go a bit further. We plan to rent b/c we are military and will only be there for a few years. Would love to hear some thoughts.

Live in the city of you don't have kids for a few years you will never forget, on base if you do have kids. The areas around ft belvior are either crap or to expensive for the avg mil family.

Don't fall for the trap and move deeper into Va like Woodbridge as many of your peers will have done. The commute sucks along with the soul sucking lack of character.

Depending on what you prefer, a couple options are Kingstowne (22315) or off the GW Parkway/Mt. Vernon Memorial Highway (22308 or 22309). Kingstowne is a planned community, mostly townhomes but some condos and SFHs. Very convenient to a lot of amenities. 22308/22309 are older, more established neighborhoods of SFHs. Lots of trees, very peaceful and quiet. These areas are in the Alexandria section of a Fairfax County (not the City of Alexandria).

I think Lorton is probably another option though I don't know it very well.

The big question of course is what is your budget? And what are your must haves?

Anonymous wrote:My family is moving to the DC area in July. DH will work at Fort Belvoir and I work from home. We have a toddler. We know nothing about the area - where should we look? I've heard good things about Alexandria but I'm wondering about other towns where our money will go a bit further. We plan to rent b/c we are military and will only be there for a few years. Would love to hear some thoughts.

Live in the city of you don't have kids for a few years you will never forget, on base if you do have kids. The areas around ft belvior are either crap or to expensive for the avg mil family.

My family is moving to the DC area in July. DH will work at Fort Belvoir and I work from home. We have a toddler. We know nothing about the area - where should we look? I've heard good things about Alexandria but I'm wondering about other towns where our money will go a bit further. We plan to rent b/c we are military and will only be there for a few years. Would love to hear some thoughts.